Daniel Gibson was 2-for-3 from long-distance in Thursday's loss. David Liam Kyle NBAE/Getty Images

The Cavaliers closed a six-point gap to one, 86-85, with just over a minute to play. But that’s where the scoring would end. LeBron James drove to the hole against Luol Deng and Joakim Noah for what would have been the game-winning bucket with 0.2 to play, but officials ruled that he’d lost the ball on the way up.

James didn’t make a trip to the line and possession went to the Bulls, who sent the Wine and Gold to their second home loss of the season. Last year, Cleveland didn’t drop their second game at The Q until the final game of the campaign.

“Neither team could make a shot,” offered James. “It’s that simple. Both teams got stops. Both teams rebounded the ball over 40 times. No team could make that backbreaking shot.”

Thursday’s matchup was a white-knuckle affair that saw 16 ties and 14 lead-changes, with each team winning alternate quarters.

All five Cavalier starters notched double-figures, led by James’ 25-point performance. LeBron added seven boards, six assists and an incredible blocked shot – swatting a John Salmons’ layup attempt with 1:11 to play to keep Chicago’s lead just a single point.

The Cavaliers starting frontcourt was fantastic on Thursday night. The backcourt and bench – not so much.

LeBron, Shaquille O’Neal and Anderson Varejao combined to go 21-for-37 from the floor, with Shaq (14 points) and Andy (12) each recording double-doubles. Varejao led all rebounders with 13.

“We have a lot of resolve,” said Shaq. “In the three games we lost, we pretty much beat ourselves by what we’re not doing. Once we master that, then we’ll be fine.”

The starting backcourt of Anthony Parker and Mo Williams was not so effective. Mo Williams had a rare off-night shooting the ball, going just 4-for-13 from the floor, including a pair of misses in the final minutes. Aside from Daniel Gibson – who was 3-for-4 from the floor with a pair of treys – the Cavaliers’ reserves were 1-for-18.

Each team shot 40 percent from the floor, but the Wine and Gold was just 12-for-20 from the stripe. Chicago also turned the ball over just six times – to the Cavaliers’ 12 – in Thursday night’s win.

The Cavaliers head to New York for a Friday night battle at the Garden. The Wine and Gold’s next home game isn’t until November 14, when Carlos Boozer and the Jazz roll into town.

2. Playing their first game of the year against a Central Division foe, the Cavaliers are now 0-1 against Chicago after going 3-1 against the Bulls in 2008-09. Last year’s 13-3 overall record against the Central was Cleveland’s best mark since realignment.

3. One area that the new-look Cavaliers have improved upon is their three-point marksmanship. Last year, the Wine and Gold shot .393 from long-distance. So far this season, they’re shooting .455.

4. LeBron has almost as much fun playing the Bulls as his hero did playing against the Cavs. Since the start of the 2005-06 season, LeBron is averaging 32.5 points, 7.7 boards and 5.8 assists per game against Chicago.

5. Seated two seats from the Cavaliers bench was Jeremy Piven who, of course, plays “Ari Gold” from the hit HBO show, Entourage.

6. If LeBron spent any more time in the crowd, he would have needed a ticket. The Cavs superstar went into the crowd twice, most notably a full-speed dive into the baseline seats with 1:32 to play in the half. After the game, James was covered in ice-packs. He described a couple of the bangs and bruises, but declined on what he hurt in the halftime dive because “there might be kids out there listening.”

7. Shaquille O’Neal has been the Diesel of old over the past few games – including a five-block game on Thursday. The last time O’Neal blocked five or more shots was on November 21, 2007 against the Hawks. In his last two outings, Shaq is averaging 17.5 points on 14-22 shooting (.636), 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 assists per game.

8. In the last four games, Cleveland held its opponents to just .412 shooting from the field and 85.5 points per game.

9. Daniel Gibson continues to wield the hot hand. Over the last two games, Boobie is 8-for-12 from the floor, including 6-for-8 from long-distance.

10. The Wild Thing is also finding his groove lately. He notched a dozen points on 5-7 shooting, adding a season-high 13 rebounds. It was Varejao’s second straight double-double and his third in Cleveland’s last four games.